Michael Milstein - INSS ([Israeli] Institute for National Security
Studies - The developing economic crisis In the Palestinian
Authority warrants a heightened alert in Israel as to a possible
strategic shift in the Palestinian system. The crisis, should it
prove protracted, and all the more so should it worsen, is liable to
ignite several threats concerning Israel: an expansion of the circle
of Palestinians involved in violent acts, specifically civil
disturbances and terrorist attacks; difficulties for the PA to
provide services in the civilian realm, which could deepen the
Palestinian public`s dependence on Israel; Hamas’s intensified
presence and tactics in face of the PA’s weakness; and compromises
in the security cooperation. [ak]

Elijah J Magnier -
Information Clearing House
"The history of Israeli aggression towardsLebanon is long. Lebanese
domestic reactionto the report of last week’s meeting of
theHezbollah leadership and the analysis of thesituation may yet
again give wrong signalsto Israel, signalling that it can
attackneighbouring countries in what it perceivesas a moment of
weakness. However, if thesesigns and signals do indeed lead to
war,that will certainly be devastating toLebanon, more than the 2006
war, and mostlikely also destructive to Israel at a levelit has not
experienced since 1973.Lebanese reaction to the prospect of a war
this summer – despite the personal evaluation of Hezbollah leader
who said otherwise, opposing his military commander’s assessments
according to what he said during his speech – could be significant.
TheLebanese people are no longer ready to pay the price of another
war (after the 2006 war and the eight-years of war attempting to
impose regime change on Syria)." ca

Roger Conhen -
NYT
"In the longer term, Israeli politics will turn to the question of
annexation. At the last minute, to shore up the right, Netanyahu
promised to start annexing the West Bank if he won another term. The
United Right and other extreme parties will not let him forget
it...Netanyahu is happiest in the gray zone where Israel controls
millions of Palestinians without having to confront the question of
whether they vote or are granted Israeli citizenship." ca

Shimrit Mei -
Ynet -
"Postponing the `deal of the century` until after Ramadan gives the
Palestinians time to rally Arab and Muslim opposition to the deal,
although many Arab leaders will avoid criticizing Trump at all costs
; further erosion of Palestinian standing in Jerusalem can be
explosive, but Hamas and Fatah still cannot manage to find common
ground.` - id

Omar Karmi - EI - “Let’s not be unkind, it was not as if Kushner didn’t have prior
experience. He prepared for his current role by leading a foundation that raised
money for illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory” [ry]

Ramzy Baroud - CounterPunch - “[…] we must understand that Israel’s illegal
policies in Palestine cannot and will not be challenged from within Israeli society.
Challenging and ending the Israeli occupation and dismantling Apartheid can only
happen through internal Palestinian resistance and external pressure that is
centered around the strategy of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” [ry]

Moran Azoulay -
Ynet -
"The former darlings of the right made a costly mistake by splitting
from their base to form a new party, and they paid the price, but
they also know how to turn weakness into strength and are well-placed
to stage an even more triumphant return." - id

Moran Azoulay -
Ynet -
"The former darlings of the right made a costly mistake by splitting
from their base to form a new party, and they paid the price, but
they also know how to turn weakness into strength and are well-placed
to stage an even more triumphant return." - id

Rami Younis and Orly Noy -
+972 -
"By creating symmetry between Israelis and Arabs, Jews on the left
are not only missing the bigger picture — they are actively taking
part in erasing the Palestinian struggle." - id

Richard Silverstein -
Tikun Olam -
" Four pro-Israel House members offered a milquetoast warning to
Netanyahu not to take any measures which would preclude a two-state
solution. This statement is ludicrous because not only does Bibi
oppose two-states, there isn’t a hope in hell of two-states happening
regardless of who’s in power. This is the deluded figment of the
liberal Zionist imagination." - id

Gershom Gorenberg -
The Washington Post
"The Kahanists didn’t disappear, though. By shifting names —
sometimes very slightly blurring the message — the movement lives
on. Otzma Yehudit is the latest iteration. It’s running again,
expecting to slip past the ban, but had no chance of meeting the
current, higher threshold for entering parliament, 3.25 percent of
the vote.These parties are splintered, small and in trouble. The
oldest, Jewish Home, militantly nationalist and pro-settlement, was
Netanyahu’s ally in the outgoing government. But its leaders,
Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, left to create a new party that
has shed the religious label. What’s left of Jewish Home has become
more extreme. At Netanyahu’s urging, it renewed a shaky alliance
with the National Union, which is further right yet. National
Union’s leader, Bezalel Smotrich, is known for equating
homosexuality to bestiality and for defending discrimination against
Arabs." ca

Chris Van Hollen&Gerald E. Connolly -
Washington Post
Netanyahu’s full-throated embrace of the far right’s extreme agenda
has placed him on a dangerous track that is not in the interest of
Israel, the Palestinians or the United States. As longtime
supporters of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, we are deeply
concerned about recent developments. If enacted, these policies
would fundamentally change the character of Israel, undermine basic
Palestinian human rights and violate long-held policies and values
adopted by U.S. presidents of both parties to achieve a future two-
state solution that enables Israelis and Palestinians to live in
peace and dignity alongside each other. That’s why Congress cannot
afford to look the other way." ca

Jane Eisner -
Forward
"Netanyahu’s success at ensuring the survival of Israel as a Jewish
state, at least for now, comes at the expense of its relationship
with most American Jews. He doesn’t need us anymore. Now we have to
figure out whether and how we relate to him." ca

Shlomi Eldar -
Al-Monitor
"On April 3, six days before the election, a young Arab woman burst
into tears at an election rally in Tel Aviv as she asked Gantz why
he was refusing to sit with the Arab parties. Gantz responded
generically, as Netanyahu would, “Tell your leaders not to speak out
against Israel.” “Your leaders,” he said. He made no mention of
partnership...They kept their distance, lost the Arab vote and will
now have to sit in opposition. The same is true of the Labor
Party..." ca

Ramzy Baroud -
Ma`an News Agency
"...a poll, conducted by the Israeli TV channel, Kan on March 27,
found that 53% of Israelis believe that Netanyahu’s response to the
Gaza resistance is “too weak.” Unable to counter with more violence,
at least for now, the Netanyahu government responded by opening
another battlefront, this time in Israeli prisons.By targeting
prisoners, especially those affiliated with certain Gaza factions,
Netanyahu is hoping to send a message of strength, and to assure his
nervous constituency of his prowess." ca

Bernard Avishai -
The New Yorker
"...if Israel’s democratic forces in Labor and Meretz have something
to learn from this new setback, it is that the center left will
never win another election without the votes of the fifth of the
population (and growing) that is not Jewish. Their bloc will need,
in addition to more people like Gantz, not another Zionist Union but
a big-tent democratic party of Jews and Arabs committed to a state
of citizens. If Arabs continue to stay home, more and more
accomplished Israelis are likely to leave home. That would be an
election that Likud cannot control." ca

Sima Kadmon -
Ynet -
"The prime minister might have secured a fifth term, but it appears he
will not be able to put together a coalition sufficiently obsequious
to pass legislation to shield him from his legal woes." - id

Richard Silverstein -
Tikun Olam -
"
There are no winners in this scenario. Even if Bibi does retain the
premiership, he has done so by the skin of his teeth. All Trump and
Putin’s horses and all their men couldn’t guarantee put Bibi back
together again on the top of the political heap." - id

DAOUD KUTTAB -
Arab News -
"Palestinian activists believe Netanyahu has been emboldened by
support from US President Donald Trump, who said the US would
recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Annexing
settlements would all but end any final chances for a two-state
solution with the Palestinians and potentially push the sides toward
a single, binational state." - id

Neri Zilber -
The Daily Beast -
"Netanyahu, facing multiple indictments, may keep himself out of jail
by annexing the West Bank. But what happens to 2.5 million
Palestinians there? And to Israel’s identity?" - id

Siddiq Bazarwala - Mondoweiss - Regardless of who wins the upcoming
Israeli elections on 9 April 2019, Palestinians will most certainly
lose. While past elections focus on Iran or the economy, this
campaign season the Israeli electorate is being fed a steady diet of
anti-Palestinian toxicity. Historically Israelis have a tendency of
voting for those with the most vile, intolerant and yet variedly
repeated anti-Palestinians tropes. Racism in the upper echelon of the
Israeli government is a norm, however, embedded just as well deep
within its institutional policies, the media, immigration rights,
housing and legal policies. In fact, it all goes back to the time
Israel was founded.-rh

TOI STAFF - “Elections are a celebration of democracy,” Rivlin told
voters in a column carried by Hebrew-language media. “This is the day
we exercise our right to determine our fate, as citizens with equal
rights and as partners in the political enterprise – the State of
Israel.”-rh

Akiva Eldar - Al-Monitor/Israel Pulse - The 2019 elections will go down in history as a single-issue referendum: yes or no on Netanyahu. This phenomenon reflects a decline in the value of ideologies, disinterest in the principles of political parties and mistrust of the most important institutions of Israeli democracy. A large number of Israelis support a leader, Netanyahu, whom both the police and the attorney general strongly suspect of egregious criminal wrongdoing. [bz]

Ramzy Baroud - CounterPunch - “For 70 years, Palestinians have embarked on
that journey of the re-creation of the self. They have resisted, and their resistance
in all of its forms has molded a sense of collective unity, despite the numerous
divisions that were erected amongst the people. The March of Return is the latest
manifestation of the ongoing Palestinian resistance” [ry]

Ben Caspit -
Al Monitor -
"Another meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin was a chance for Netanyahu to boast of his Russian ties with Putin and emphasize a new security threat ahead of the elections." - id

Edo Konrad -
+972 -
"In his 10 years in power, Netanyahu has engaged in race-baiting against his own citizens, declared the occupation a permanent feature of Israeli reality, and shifted both the national and international conversation on Palestine. It is time to acknowledge that these are no mere trends — but his very legacy." - id

Yacov Ben Efrat -
Challenge -
"Interestingly, as soon as Hamas reaches an understanding with Israel, internal protests in Gaza erupt in full force. Cash infusions from Qatar through Ben-Gurion Airport and the Erez checkpoint injected directly into their coffers, damages Hamas’s prestige and credibility in the eyes of the impoverished residents of the Gaza Strip." - id

Nahum Barnea - Ynet - There is no reason to be satisfied with a reality in which both sides sit on a barrel of explosives and play with matches. What is needed is a plan to rehabilitate Gaza with the cooperation of the PA, the Arab states and global institutions. Such a plan means taking risks, but the current situation is risky too. Only Netanyahu can do it - if he only had the courage to want it. [bz]